Note: This post contains affiliate links. This means that I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you) if you subscribe or purchase something through the links provided. You will never see me post a link to a product or service that I don’t use myself or truly love!

Now is the time to start building your social media strategy for 2018, or at least keep in mind that these trends will be the main focus that you should “hop on top” of for 2018. The number one marketing tip is to promote your business where your target audience spends the most time. Knowing your target demographic (or Avatar) on social media is a powerful marketing tool.

I have created a numbered list of the strategies I feel will be most important in incorporating these into your 2018 social media plans.

Here are the 5 Social Media Trends to know for 2018:

1. Increasing popularity of Instagram Stories.

This is brand new and businesses haven’t jumped on the IG (Instagram) stories advertising yet. Entrepreneur.com states that 200 million use Instagram stories each month and it’s only one year old. IG stories was introduced in August, 2016 and is catching on quick. I have outlined some basic tools you will need in order to perfect your Instagram game below in #4.

2. Increasing brand participation in messaging platforms.

Chatbots will enable brands to personalize shopping experiences on messaging platforms like Messenger, WhatsApp and KiK.

Using chatbots to provide customer service, receipts, and special offers to customers has really gained momentum in 2017. Customers want (and expect) immediate answers to their questions, chatbots are an ideal solution – especially when they’re used through Facebook Messenger. Chatbots allow brands to interact quickly with customers in a way that feels personal and they get immediate gratification with quick answers.

3. Re-thinking Twitter.

Twitter just changed their 140 character limit to 280 characters. How does that affect your social media strategy in 2018? Think about how much more you can describe your products and use more hashtags for promotion. Don’t forget though, that a longer tweet takes up room on a feed and the population isn’t quite on board yet with bigger real estate taking up their feeds. You have to do this strategically and test out a few 280 character tweets and see how well they are received. Let me know in the comments how this works out for your business!

4. Live streaming videos on Instagram Live and Facebook Live should be in your monthly content plan.

In 2018, more brands will begin to realize the power of live streaming and will incorporate it into their social media strategies. Please think about adding a monthly or weekly live video to your strategy. Use a nice background and purchase stabilizing equipment for your phone and you might need to purchase extra lighting equipment that is not too expensive. I have checked these products out and here is what I recommend:

All of the previous products are what I will be using in my studio for live feeds. They are inexpensive and under $50.00. You don’t have to break the bank!!

In addition, back in March of 2017, we were given the ability to record live video on Instagram to be repurposed for future posts. This is a valuable time saver when it comes to saving a live post for future reference. Videos have been shown to elicit higher engagement, including more likes, retweets, comments and shares – especially on Facebook. And with new live streaming formats cropping up every day on most social channels, there are many options for integrating video into your existing social media marketing strategy.

5. Influencer marketing is still going strong

This idea was found at business2community.com and authored by Vivian Michaels. I really liked the statistics and it helped me understand how important influencer marketing will be in 2018.

It’s about time to do social media outreach, find a suitable influencer for your business, and step into the future of marketing. In 2018, influencers are set to take over social media as more companies, both big and small, are realizing the importance of this marketing strategy as a form of noninvasive product/service promotion.

Not sure whether you should try influencer marketing? A few key statistics will help you make the right decision:

32% of US-based influencers say Facebook is the best platform while 24% think Instagram is the best

71% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase based on a reference from social media

In 2018, it won’t be enough to establish a collaboration with some random influencer especially now when this marketing strategy has become mainstream. Instead, the focus will be on building meaningful relationships with influencers, setting clear objectives, and choosing a person who meets your requirements.

Conclusion

2018 is almost here, and it’s time to reconsider our social media approach to maximize marketing results. Next year, we can expect to see major changes on many platforms to enhance user experience and appeal to the younger population.

As an entrepreneur, you probably find yourself juggling all sorts of tasks, often with shifting priorities. You may get to the end of your working day and question whether you've made any progress, or achieved anything! This can feel frustrating and sometimes overwhelming, to say the least. Here are some tips to help beat overwhelm and achieve efficiency...

#1 Know How You Spend Your Time

Wasted time is the crux of inefficiency, and this often occurs due to procrastination, succumbing to distractions or inefficient working practices. The first step to becoming more efficient is to understand how you spend your time. This can be analysed quite easily, by tracking the time you spend on tasks and between tasks, either by hand or with a time-tracking app such as Toggl or RescueTime. This simple exercise can also be performed by your team and will help you discover where time is wasted in your business and where improvements need to be made.

#2 Processes

Documented processes across many areas of your business will help increase efficiency, as this saves you and your team 're-inventing the wheel' each time you complete a task. For example, ensuring customer-facing processes are in place, such as customer on-boarding and after-sales care, will vastly improve efficiency as you're able to follow procedure, and use defined templates rather than spend time thinking through and implementing your actions and responses each time, so all that's necessary is to quickly customize, where necessary.

#3 Tools

Readily available online software will massively improve the day-to-day operational efficiency of key areas of your business. There are tools that streamline many business areas, for example customer support, project management, accounts, payments and team communication.

#4 Prioritize Your To-Dos

Focus is in, and multitasking is out! Trying to do too much will just cause you to get stressed out and feel overwhelmed and in an overall sense, lead you to achieve very little. You need to work with your priorities and focus on the most important tasks. Take a look at your to-do list and pick three main tasks to achieve each day. You're likely to get more done in this manner, as it's less overwhelming and it's then a bonus if you manage to complete more.

Another very simple yet effective habit is to plan your to-do's for the next day, as the last task you do each working day. This means you set your intention and awake with a firm plan for the day ahead.

#5 Break It Down

People often reach overwhelm and become inefficient when faced with a large task. However, breaking the task down into smaller achievable steps makes everything more manageable and helps you strategize and see your direction clearly, which can increase your motivation in a big way 🙂

#6 Embrace Change

If the method chosen to complete a task continues to achieve the required outcome, oftentimes people resist changing it. However, if the same outcome can be achieved with considerably less effort, in a fraction of the time, therefore making you much more efficient... change should be encouraged!

#7 Delegate to Your Virtual Assistant

Many entrepreneurs find delegation challenging, because at some point they've carried out all the roles. But, you need to let go - for the sake of your business, for team retention and to allow you and your business to grow!

As a proactive resource dedicated to supporting your business with the exact level of service you require, you can be ultra-confident that your VA will take on individual tasks, projects or entire roles as necessary to improve your business operations, increase efficiency and help you grow your business. I know a few great Virtual Assistants and would be happy to recommend one to you!

#8 Hire a Professional Social Media Manager

There is a difference between a VA and a Social Media Manager (#smm). A Social Media Manager evaluates your current online presence and then creates a strategy for your business to gain more outreach on all your social media platforms. She/He curates pictures, posts, news, and how-to tips directly related to your business service or product and posts them for your business at high traffic times which are different for each platform.